Incoming prime minister Andy Burnham has said he will be “pro-business”.
After being crowned as the new leader of the Labour Party, Burnham delivered a speech during which he said he is “ready to lead” and insisted he does “have a plan”.
The former Greater Manchester mayor, who will take over as prime minister on Monday following Keir Starmer’s resignation, stressed he will be supportive of businesses including “more power” to “improve high streets” and “backing local businesses such as the pubs and the shops that bring them to life”.
Continuing his address at the Trades Union Congress headquarters in central London where his leadership of the party was announced, he added “make no mistake, everybody, I will be a pro-business leader of the Labour Party, as I was a pro-business mayor of Greater Manchester.
“And as part of that, more power to re-industrialise and to build an education system based on parity between academic and technical education, to give every young person growing up in different parts of the country a path in life to university, or to a work placement, to apprenticeship, and into a good job.”
In a previous speech, Burnham promised the “biggest rebalancing of power our country has seen” with a focus on regional growth led by a new prime minister’s office in Manchester, known as ‘No 10 North’.
For businesses, he pledged reform of business rates and small businesses’ access to public sector contracts.
On Monday when he becomes prime minister, Burnham will announce his new Cabinet. According to the Financial Times, he is planning to reinstate Jonathan Reynolds as business secretary in an expanded business department.
Shabana Mahmood is expected to take over from Rachel Reeves as chancellor.